folk art <3, or how the folk dogs got their name

for as long as i can remember, i have been a fan of folk art. i think what i like best about it is the ’self-taught’ aspect. i love that it’s a genre where people who sort of don’t know what they’re doing (in comparison, i guess, to fine artists, and i know that this is not always the case) — and therefore have almost no pretenses or expectations –  just go for it and make art. these people are like me. i mostly don’t know what i’m doing. i put paint on a canvas and shape it into a dog.

i also like the grassroots-ish feeling that folk art has — the way it captures a certain culture or attitude or way of being. missionary mary proctor has always been on one of my favorites, and lately i’ve been enjoying looking at work by lucy hunnicutt, after receiving a postcard with one of her paintings on it from american folk art and framing in asheville, nc. (see "Rev. Lowery's Prayer" Painting by Lucy Hunnicutt, 2009 at the right.)

recently, i bought a small painting by an artist called ‘cornbread‘. i mean, the guy goes by ‘cornbread’ — how could i not want to buy his art? the painting i bought is only about 5×7 and is of a mini red guinea hen, acrylic on cardboard. i LOVE it. it’s got this giant eye that is simultaneously freakishly cute and all-seeing.

people have asked how the folk dogs got their name. well, this is how: my lack of technical skill and love of folk art. i’m not sure precisely when i realized that the dogs i was painting were folk dogs, but one thing’s for certain: that’s exactly what they are. it fits. and now, i’m going to go covet some more paintings by cornbread.